In the 13-year period of 2005 through 2017, canines killed 433 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 66% (284) of these deaths. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers contributed to 76% of the total recorded deaths. | More »

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Dog Shipped Out-of-StateUPDATE 03/19/15: Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron has agreed to allow the pit bull that killed a man to be shipped to an out-of-state pet sitting and rescue organization that was recently given verbal and written warnings for kennel maintenance violations. South Hills Pet Rescue and Rehabilitation Resort, located in Union Township, Pennsylvania,1 serves "all breeds, with all needs," according to its website and adopts out animal-aggressive pit bulls like Gopher.

Gopher's Info: "Not good with dogs, and not good with cats."

If a picture is worth a thousand words then check out the South Hills "rehabilitation resort" facility. This is apparently where Sheba, the fatally attacking pit bull, will be housed, allegedly rehabilitated then likely put up for adoption. TribLive.com reports that the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement inspected the property on Tuesday, according to a report online, and issued verbal and written warnings for multiple kennel maintenance violations.2

The warden “observed some of the wire that connects fencing to fence post in individual kennel area to be sharp and sticking out, kennel fencing pulled and damaged, materials used to repair damaged fencing had sharp edges, broken kennel latches, dividers between kennels becoming separated, damaged guillotine doors and cables, plaster board walls needing repaired,” according to the report. - TribLive.com, March 19, 2015

Co-owner of South Hills Pet Rescue and Rehabilitation Resort, Ashley Rittle, who owns the business with her husband, said that about 50 dogs are currently being kept at the "picture is worth a thousand words" property. Rittle blamed the dogs for the damage to the kennels, saying that dogs suffering from separation anxiety cause the damage. Rittle also asked for donations, expressing, "we're not millionaires" and "we're really asking for help from the communities."

Prosecutors and attorneys representing the interests of Helo the husky agreed today that the dog could be sent to an out-of-state animal sanctuary from which it cannot be adopted ... Helo will be transferred from a shelter in Monroeville to the facility next week. Attorneys declined to give its name or location, citing concerns for the safety of the dog and its handlers. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 27, 2012

03/13/15: Death by Dog Bite Injury On Friday, Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said that a preliminary autopsy report shows that a man who was attacked by a pit bull on Sunday in East Wheeling died as a direct result of the injuries he sustained during the attack. The dog attacked Roy Higgenbotham, 62, as he tried to assist his roommate David Wallace, 63, who had suffered a fatal heart attack. The dog bite injuries severed Higgenbotham's radial artery near his left wrist directly causing his death.

Despite earlier reports indicating that autopsies would be performed on both men, an autopsy was not performed on Wallace. Also, despite Ohio County Dog Warden Doug McCroskey allegedly indicating to "would be rescuers" of the fatally attacking pit bull that he had authority over the fate of the animal -- purportedly even appearing on a radio show, saying so publicly -- this role falls to City Manager Robert Herron due to the nature of the attack and the city's vicious dog ordinance.

City Manager Robert Herron will have final say on whether the dog will be given to a family member or destroyed.

Herron said because the dog is not registered on the city's vicious dog registry and because of the attack on Higgenbotham, he has jurisdiction over the fate of the dog. The Wheeling Intelligencer, March 13, 2015

On March 10, Tamara Lightner, whose relationship to the victims is unknown, made the following claim in a Facebook post. The typos are her own, as are her many claims. We highlighted the suspect and "wishful thinking" portions. Police continue to investigate if this same pit bull was involved in a previous attack several weeks earlier in the same neighborhood. Deputy Police Chief Martin Kimball said that a female victim was bitten on the leg and required medical treatment.

Tamara Lightner

For those following Sheba. Humane Officer Doug McCroskey was on Steve Novotney's show tonight. The conversation really shined some hope down on Sheba and her fate. Doug talked about his first encounter with her. When he arrived she was behind an entertaintment stand in a bedroom. She never put up a fight with him and he walked her out to his truck. He says she is eating and does growl occassionally likely due to fear. She does not act aggressive. He stated if a family member wants her he would most definitely consider releasing her to them. Rescues have also contacted him something he too is not oppossed of. With that a paper releasing them from liability would need signed of course. There is no time frame on her fate and he isnt looking to rush family as they have been through a lot. Sheba has not had any encounters in the past as far as aggression goes. Before this she was a very happy loved dog whose world was shattered in a matter of minutes. As far as the victim it was noted he did not appear to have been mauled..he had 2 bite wounds(unsure location). This just leaves me to wonder if she was the cause of death ultimately...Tamara Lightner, March 10, 2015

03/10/15: “Revival” Slaps to the Face The Washington Post reports new information, including that it was a few “revival” slaps to the face by Roy Higginbotham that launched the dog into attack mode. Apparently, Higginbotham did not even have a chance to administer CPR to his roommate David Wallace before Wallace’s pit bull attacked him. After kicking in the door to the home, police arrived to Higginbotham screaming for help as the dog attacked him and a woman hiding from the dog on the roof of the home.

After kicking in the door, officers went to an upstairs bedroom where they observed the victim on the floor of the bedroom being attacked by a white and brown pit bull with blood all over its face,” Deputy Police Chief Martin Kimball told The Post. “The dog came towards officers in an aggressive manner and then hid in a corner of the room. - The Washington Post, March 10, 2015

Kimball also said they believe the same pit bull may have attacked a pedestrian several weeks ago on the street, though he added no further details. Wheeling has an ordinance that classifies pit bulls and several other close breeds as “vicious.” The owners are required to carry a $100,000 liability insurance policy and keep the dog properly confined. This fatal attack, however, occurred inside of a home and the pit bull attacked a man well known to it who also lived in the home.3

Meanwhile, a local no-kill shelter is trying to save the attacking female pit bull. Webark Estates writes in a recent post, “We have contacted Best Friends Animal Society in Utah to ask them to step in and save this poor dog at the pound in Wheeling, WV.” Most of the commenters clamour the dog was, “just trying to protect his owner” and it was “only doing her job.” Beth Patsch chimes in, “She has always been a sweet, shy girl that loved those men to pieces and they adored her.”

Which certainly explains the dog's “fatally attacking” behavior on Sunday.

It is unknown what will happen to the pit bull named Sheba, especially now in light of a possible previous attack by the animal. At this stage, with both autopsy results still pending, the cause of death remains unclear as well. Kimball states in The Post article that the only other person in the house at the time of the attack, the woman who later fled onto the roof to escape the dog, was in the room when Higginbotham was attacked. Both other witnesses to the dog attack are dead.

03/10/15: Sorting Out the Fatal Attack Yesterday, we began following the local paper, The Wheeling Intelligencer, which partly operates behind a paywall. Yesterday’s article was open to all readers, but with that came confusion regarding the “first” and “second” man, which victim was either? Reading it one way leads one to believe that the pit bull attacked both men. Reading it another way, the dog only attacked one man, but both men suffered heart attacks. It seems the latter scenario might be what occurred.

DogsBite.org and other victims’ advocates wrote to the Intelligencer last night asking them to clarify the “first” and “second” man for these reasons. This clarification is now found in the first sentence, as well throughout today’s article. As of March 10, the “second” man is the aid-giver who was attacked by the pit bull and the “second” man may have also suffered a heart attack. So it appears both men suffered heart attacks, but only the “second” man was attacked by the dog.

Police Sorting Out Fatal Dog Attack in East Wheeling

WHEELING - Police have released the names of two men who died Sunday in Wheeling - one from an apparent heart attack, the second from being attacked by a dog as he tried to save the first man. ---snip---

McKenzie said he could not confirm whether the second man was killed by the dog or suffered a heart attack after the dog attacked him. He said an autopsy will be done on both bodies to determine the causes of death.

A woman who identified herself as a relative of one of the victims said the second man died of a heart attack after the dog attacked him.- The Wheeling Intelligencer, March 10, 2015

Police ordered autopsies on the “first” and “second” man to determine cause of death.

03/09/15: Victims' Names Released Wheeling police have released the identities of both male victims. David Wallace, 63, and Roy Higgenbotham Jr., 62, both of Wheeling, died Sunday night at a home on 14th Street. Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger confirmed that one of the victims was attacked by the pit bull, but the cause of death of both victims is still being investigated. According to at least one neighbor, a woman in the home escaped through a second floor window to avoid being attacked as well.

Regrettably, WTRF News, along with a stunned brother and next-door neighbor are characterizing this dog’s violent attack as a “misunderstanding” despite one man apparently being mauled to death by the dog and another person fleeing out of a window in fear of her life. There was no “misunderstanding,” this is just another horrific pit bull attack resulting in human death. Pit bulls regularly rise to the level of explosive, deadly aggression under far less stressful circumstances.

Patsch, who lives directly next door and witnessed the woman fleeing from the second floor window Sunday night, said the female pit bull “was always wonderful.” The two men were roommates and had owned the attacking pit bull since she was “tiny, tiny and never a problem.” They had owned the dog’s mother as well, which died last fall, Patsch said. The incident resulting in two deaths continues to be investigated by the Wheeling Police Department Detective Division.

New Information Released

The Wheeling Intelligencer, the local newspaper, sheds more light on this attack, but also adds confusion. Predictably, the pit bull was not registered as required by the city’s vicious dog ordinance. But the real whopper -- presuming the “first” man was rendering aid -- is that the pit bull possibly attacked both men. Sgt. Gregg McKenzie said he could not confirm at this time "whether the second man was killed by the dog or suffered a heart attack after the dog attacked him."4

At about 5:00 pm Central time, the Intelligencer updated their article and included information about the dog’s owner and which of the men had been rendering aid. “The dog's owner was identified as David Wallace, 63, of 131 14th Street, East Wheeling. The man who was performing CPR when he was attacked by the pit bull was identified as Roy A. Higginbotham Jr., 62, of Wheeling,” states the paper. Confusion still remains, however, about which is the “second” man.

03/09/15: Pit Bull Kills Man Wheeling, WV - A pit bull attacked and killed a man who was trying to save the dog owner’s life, according to Wheeling police. Lt. Phil Redford said that police believe the dog’s owner suffered a heart attack. When another man in the home tried to resuscitate him, the pit bull attacked and killed him. Police had to force their way into the home late Sunday, where they found both victims. It is unknown if the dog also attacked its owner. Wheeling declares pit bulls prima facie vicious.

Paramedics and Firefighters

Protocols vary across jurisdictions, but there are examples on this website where paramedics and firefighters are forced to stay in their vehicles as a human life slips away because one or more attacking pit bulls is still unrestrained near the victim and police have not yet arrived to remove the animal. These protocols exist for a good reason. No further information has been released about the East Wheeling fatal dog attack. Ohio County Animal Control placed the pit bull into quarantine.

1The location of the South Hills property is listed as South Park, PA on their corporate website and their PetFinder page. The TribeLive.com article, however, explains that the couple bought the Union Township property three years ago. There may be two locations. Also, South Park and Union Township are only 6.4 miles apart.2We looked for this report on their website and could not locate it.3The dog was contained, but it was not registered with the city nor would it seem likely that it was insured.4It is also possible, given the uncertainty of who the “first” and “second” man refers to, is that both men suffered heart attacks. If the “second” man is Higginbotham -- who rendered aid -- and also suffered a heart attack, these two statements make more sense, (1)“McKenzie said he could not confirm whether the second man was killed by the dog or suffered a heart attack after the dog attacked him” and (2)“A woman who identified herself as a relative of one of the victims, said the second man died of a heart attack after the dog attacked him.” Otherwise, only one man suffered a heart attack and the dog attacked them both. Police ordered autopsies on both victims.

If pit bulls aren't the most vicious dogs out there, they sure are the stupidest. When was the last time a Chihuahua had a 'misunderstanding' that left one person dead, let alone two? Or any other breed, for that matter?

It was only a matter of time before this happened in my city. Yes, we have BSL, but to the best of my observation, it has never been enforced.

As for the local media, the Intelligencer/News Register (morning and evening editions of the same paper) editorialized against passing the pit bull law when it was first proposed, arguing that it wouldn't stop anyone from buying a poodle and training it to be a killer. (They actually used a poodle as an example.) However, they also publish most of the letters they receive, so Dogsbite.org might want to submit a letter to the editor.

WTRF has long been a friend to local animal shelters. Unfortunately, shelters no longer always mean the same thing they once did. It is not surprising.

Ugh. I didn't think anyone in a position of authority would allow this pos dog to walk free. I really hope common sense prevails, or a family member of one of the deceased makes sure the dog is put down.

Swingdog – Dogs are quite literally human inventions. They constitute one of man's first successful efforts to create biological tools to enhance human abilities to control their environment. Early in the process humans learned to breed dogs specifically to defend their property and their masters. They also specifically bred dogs for "sport combat", essentially turning them into virtual killing machines. Unfortunately, the pit bull was originally designed to "fight in a pit" to the death. It is both physically and mentally preconditioned for this purpose. It may be possible to make "pets" of such dogs, but it is virtually impossible to erase generations of breeding and training make the animal "safe". The body of the pit bull is in keeping with its fighting purpose. It has enormously strong jaws and can absorb strong blows without stopping its attack. Not a good animal to be a family companion.

If these people are thinking that Best Friends Animal Society is the answer, they are even more mindless than I realized.

When the problems with Steve Markwell and Olympic Animal Sanctuary came to light, it was revealed that Best Friends shifted the vicious pit bulls to place like Olympic or worse (Don Chapman) when they were asked to help, to be be tortured and die.

Best Friends was not taking them in to their sanctuary because of expense and liability issues, and because of an overall reduction at their sanctuary.

Yesterday's News-Register had an article titled, "Registered Dogs on the Decline," in which officials admit that there are far more pit bulls present in the city than are properly registered, and that many owners are non-compliant. I personally have seen multiple pit bulls around our city, and I have never, ever seen one muzzled while being walked off the owner's property.

"Ohio county dog warden I'd Doug McKrosky, I spoke to him yesterday. He said the dog could be released to an immediate family member because of liability"

An animal control officer who aids and abets the pit bull lobby, and helps get a dog that has killed back out in the public to kill again, is NOT an animal control officer, but an arm of special interests

I'm appalled that this man is giving special advice and suggestions to help the the pit bull lobby.

Animal Control officer Doug McCroskey was singing a somewhat different tune in 2011. It looks like the pit bull lobby has put pressure on him in the meantime, and he gave in. McCroskey now appears to have decided to play the role of prosecutor.

Pit Bull Problem Growing on Wheeling IslandUpdated: Apr 29, 2011 6:34 PM ESTAnimal owners not keeping an eye on their pets is becoming a repeat problem on Wheeling Island, according to officials with the Ohio County Animal Shelter. Ohio County Dog Warden Doug McCroskey says that this past weekend, two unattended pit bulls attacked and killed a pet cat and chased a man a few days later. McCroskey says that when these types of animals get loose and cause harm, owners need to take more responsibility. He adds that the animals are getting more of a punishment than the people that own them, and said that when an animal gets loose, it is usually the owner’s fault. McCroskey said that after an incident occurs, it is up to the city prosecutor to determine whether the dog is vicious and whether charges will be filed against the owner.

This area has also had a number of violent pit bull attacks that have gone unreported in the media. Clearly these attacks are being intentionally kept from public view, until one of them rose to the level of a fatality and the information could not be suppressed.

I saw this comment from a local resident

"This is a very sad case. I wonder why the newspaper said when they arrived the dog was mauling the victim, but now they are saying 2 bites? I love dogs so I'm not saying I favor one or the other on the report. There have been a good bit of pit attacks in the valley that go unreported. A man was mauled by 2 Pitts in McMechan just 2 weeks ago and not a peep in the media."

Tamara Lightner, who is the person on that page who is organizing all the stories denying that the dog was violent and also trying to to "save" the dangerous dog and claiming direct contact with Dog McCroskey the dog warden, is a fanatical pit bull lobbyist who has been doing this kind of thing all over the internet for the past several years.

She also is personal friends with Doug McCroskey and his family.

McCroskey has some questions to answer about who is is serving exactly.

There also is another development in Wheeling animal control issues that came up in mid 2014.

Local Wheeling police used to handle animal control and dog issues in Wheeling, but Ohio County WV animal welfare officer (animal control or dog warden) Doug MCCroskey was pushed into their territory to assert dominance in animal control, as aided by Wheeling City Solicitor Rose Humway Warmuth, who was pressuring Wheeler to cede control of animal issues to the county instead of local.

This is often bad news for dog attack victims as more centralized county or state control means that, unfortunately, special interests such as pit bull lobbyist interests can sometimes assert control into local cases, and put locals and local police at their mercy, never a good situation.

Look where that has led them now.

While the local police wanted to wait until a full investigation was finalized before releasing information, they were one-upped by COUNTY animal control officer Doug McCroskey who ran out after interaction with local pit bull lobbyists and behind the backs of Wheeling police, to a local radio entertainment dj to undertake a propaganda campaign and assert unproven things when an investigation was ongoing.

As seen in the picture on that article, the man in Steve Novotney's photograph provided to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette was Doug McCroskey.

I saw your link to the Webark group trying to get this dog put out in public again to kill again.

Did you see this response? Just think if you are this man's neighbor, or you live in an area where this man resells these dogs to. People like this will willingly put everyone at risk just because of a post they see on social media by extremists.

He'll sign a waiver but then he'll resell this dog that killed someone, perhaps two people, and attacked three people, and you won't even know what moved in next door until you or your child are dead.

This is what pit bull advocacy and No Kill, and the pit bull breeders, are doing.

"Ricky Lang. How do I get ahold of the shelter or pound she's at…I'd like to save her. I'll sign any waiver needed..I've rescued these poor dogs before and rehomed them. I would love to make her part of my family."

And they won't even have the decency to warn the new neighbors of these vicious maulers. This is why pits = threat, you just cannot trust them or their owners.

I loathe those rescue angels. When there are many dogs to save that aren't vicious- especially with the glut of maulers in the shelters- why save a deadly one? I hope that if someone does save her, they get attacked instead of an innocent or stranger- because the odds that mauler won't attack again are very low.

I'd like to tell you that such Herculean efforts are not being made on behalf of other animals slated for euthanasia in Ohio County. The Ohio County shelter is not no-kill. They get in a lot of animals, and some are euthanized because the shelter simply runs out of space. As you can see they have lots of dogs of all breeds. https://www.facebook.com/OhioCoAnimalShelter?rf=145649848802850

The Ohio County shelter isn't a bad shelter by any means, but they aren't visible in the community like some other local shelters and rescues are. They don't have awareness events like the nearby Marshall County Shelter, which is constantly having community events.

The Lightners are a very well-known local family. Robert Lightner was a very popular and high-profile Sheriff of nearby Marshall County for 16 years. Tamara has gotten herself very involved in local pet rescue. If you visit the Facebook pages of rescues and shelters in Ohio and Marshall counties, you'll see she is very active on there.

It seems to be more often happening that people who think they are getting involved in pet rescue get sidetracked into pit bull lobbying, and don't understand that the pit bull lobby has, at its heart, financial interests which are based on being able to keep exploiting pit bulls, and everyone else

I did see the "breaking news" change a few days ago. I believe it came after the cause of death was released. As if a bite fully severing his radial artery causing him to bleed to death was a modest infraction. Of course the dog continued its assault after severing the artery as well. But, "Not sounding vicious on the dog's part," according to Webark logic. The fact of the matter is the dog is prima facie vicious by LAW. Webark does not even understand the city's ordinance.

Further, there is no evidence at all that Higgenbotham was actually rendering CPR either. That's completely made up. What is known so far is that Higgenbotham delivered a few revival "slaps" to the face of Wallace and that is what set the dog off, according to police. It seems Higgenbotham did not even have time to render CPR before the pit bull attacked him. He may have been able to save Wallace's life if he could have rendered CPR. Thanks to Sheba now both men are dead.

The fanatics do nothing about the thousands of pit bulls dumped and euthanized every day thanks to their promotion, but they will work to send this dog to a dog warehouse and cruel and dangerous conditions with no history of success.

The picture of South Hills Pet Rescue and Rehabilitation Resort, located in Union Township, Pennsylvania is chilling. There are puppy mills that look better. Dogs have been freezing out in the cold with only torn thin plastic that provides no cover.

This whole situation is reminiscent of Steve Markwell and Olympic Animal Sanctuary, who took bite and aggression case dangerous dogs in exchange for large amounts of money.

He claimed to "rehab" but had no proven abilities or success. Most of the dogs were warehoused and tortured. Others disappeared. Best Friends Animal Society was the main referrer to Markwell.

South Hills Pet Rescue and Rehabilitation Resort, located in Union Township, Pennsylvania has NO track record. They have only been doing this "rescue" for the past year. Even after just a year, they are already failing and aren't taking care of the kennels or dogs properly and receiving citations.

The dog will be redumped, more than likely (to save money on care) to kill again and perpetuate the "bad rap" the fanatics claim to hate, or get redumped again to die at a shelter or on the streets, and the fanatics that sent the dog there or gave money won't even know.

They want to believe in fantasies.

"Ashley Rittle's husband, Nick Ferraro, an animal behaviorist, bought the pet resort three years ago. Rittle added the rescue operation a year ago, she said."

City Solicitor for Wheeling, Rosemary Humway Warmuth should be asked why she is allowing a dog that attacked three people and killed a man to be sent to a questionable facility with no track record, to kill again.

It was Warmuth who was pictured with that animal control officer Doug McCroskey and pressured the city to cede control to the county.

It really is awful. The only thing the Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron is worried about is "liability" to the city. Not his problem if the dog maims or kills a child in another state. If he were so sure this dog was safe, why have so many fears and paperwork needed to ENSURE the dog can never be a liability to the city? Herron even knows about the recent verbal and written violations to the kennel by the PA Bureau of Dog Law too and still he does not care. The timing of the inspection is most certainly related to Sheba's transfer on Wednesday — the inspection was Tuesday. The situation is very remnant of Markwell; he eventually went down with a big bang too. I don't know if you saw the second photo on the Trib site, but they will probably use Sheba as some type of mascot…

South Hills is a pretty affluent area south of Pittsburgh. Fits with what we know about the animal rights extremist movement — it attracts a lot of affluent people. Mostly white. And the dead men in this case? Well, they were African American.

People, there are race and class issues all over this case. Why isn't it getting the coverage that, say, the shooting deaths of unarmed men of color get

I wish that the governor of Pennsylvania could explain how, if this dog had been owned by a PA resident, it would at least have a dangerous dog designation and some requirements in place to protect the public and other animals.

Because it's a trafficking from another state, a dog that attacked three violently and killed one, escapes the law?

From what I read about how this operation South Hills runs, they use a lot of volunteer free labor. Women and children who are caring for dogs with little supervision and no idea that some of these dogs have violent histories of attack and kill.

They are literally sitting ducks, as are the neighbors because the kennels are broken down and unsafe.

Then when they resell the dog, the history is just wiped clean, and the buyer has no idea what they are getting into and what precautions they need to take? This place is handing out dogs that also violently attack and kill other pets.

They have 50 dogs and adding. How can they possibly care for all these bite history, dangerous dogs in any way? Well, the citations show they already aren't. The barriers that even prevent the dogs from killing each other in the kennel are broken down, the walls are coming down.

For a pit bull advocacy that is supposed to care so much about the bad rap of these dogs and their treatment, and the fact that they are showing up in the media headlines in attack situations, all they are doing is setting Sheba up for another negative situation, besides putting the dog in a failing warehouse.

I can tell you that overall, this is not generally a part of the country that cares much about animals. Our shelters are always full, with just as many other dog breeds as pits. Literally right across the river from Wheeling is Belmont County, OH, whose shelter is so infamously overcrowded with dogs and cats that at one point the HSUS had to step in. A while back, we had a popular local radio host who loved to mock any sort of concern for animal welfare–he once spent an entire morning deriding a group of people who had saved a kitten trapped in a storm drain. Another radio host slaughtered a cow as an on-air stunt.

So don't believe that this is about concern for sparing a "poor puppy"'s life. Many, many other dogs and cats who have no such history are destroyed each and every day in the Upper Ohio Valley. Nor are residents and leaders progressive in any way in improving the lot of animals.